The Latest: Trump offers plan to cut college tuition

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

8:28 p.m.

Donald Trump is threatening to cut off certain federal funding to colleges that fail to work to curb soaring tuition costs. His plan sounds a lot like the one proposed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during his own 2016 presidential run.

Trump tells a rally crowd in suburban Philadelphia on Thursday night that “one of the biggest problems facing young people and families today is the cost of college education.”

To rein in costs, he says he wants to work with Congress to make sure colleges only get access to certain federal tax breaks and other benefits if they “make good-faith efforts to reduce the cost of college and student debt.”

Trump has often mentioned the issues of college affordability and debt in passing. But this is the first time he’s proposed how to address it.

Christie is now a top Trump adviser.

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7:48 p.m.

The trash talk is underway ahead of Monday’s first showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Then he answered his own question: “They say she’s practicing for the debate. Some people think she’s sleeping.”

Trump has long tried to cast Clinton as having weak stamina.

Clinton’s camp has confirmed she is preparing for the debate and has no public events scheduled.

Asked earlier today if he’s preparing, Trump suggested that his choice to campaign rather than huddle so far this week speaks for itself.

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7:45 p.m.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have bought a three-bedroom home next door to their house in Chappaqua, New York.

Westchester County property records in New York show the Clintons purchased the 3,631-square-foot home in mid-August. It sits on 1.5 acres of land and allows the former president and the current Democratic presidential nominee to expand their property in Chappaqua.

The New York Post first reported the purchase of the ranch-style house Thursday. The newspaper said the Clintons paid $1.16 million in the transaction.

Clinton’s campaign did not immediately comment on the sale.

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7:43 p.m.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine said he makes no apologies for spending much of his time on the campaign trail raising money from the wealthy at private fundraisers.

Kaine often bemoans the outsized influence of rich donors on politics and told reporters on his campaign plane Thursday he supports “dramatic” reform of the federal campaign finance system. But he said he’ll continue to raise money at high-dollar events until the law is changed.

“You cannot unilaterally disarm,” Kaine said. “You can’t.”

Kaine has spent the first part of the week raising money in California. He’s set to attend a fundraiser in Houston with singer Michael Bolton Thursday evening and another fundraiser Friday at the home of a billionaire ex-wife of an Oklahoma oil baron.

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7:42 p.m.

Donald Trump is making a direct appeal to women at a rally in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Trump tells a rally crowd it should be easier to access and pay for college.

He says, “Women also value security,” pledging to provide “great security for this country.”

Trump is also accusing rival Hillary Clinton of doing too little to help women and children — despite the fact that she has spent decades advocating on their behalf.

Trump asks why so many continue to live in poverty and claims Clinton “all of a sudden” ”wants to do childcare,” even though Clinton rolled out a plan far earlier and has discussed the issue far more.

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7:34 p.m.

Donald Trump says the rioting currently taking place “in our streets is a threat to all peaceful citizens.” He says it “must be ended now.”

Trump is delivering his law-and-order message at a rally in Chester Township, Pennsylvania.

His comments come after violent protests rocked Charlotte, North Carolina, following the police shooting death of an unarmed man.

The Republican presidential nominee has said he wouldn’t tolerate that kind of behavior if he makes it to the White House.

Trump is also going on attack against rival Hillary Clinton, claiming she doesn’t “have to worry” about “the sirens and the gunshots at night.”

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7:05 p.m.

Donald Trump is playing a new song for his entrance to an evening rally near Philadelphia: “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the classic 1976 boxing film “Rocky.”

It’s an attempt to connect Trump to one of Philly’s favorite sons, the plucky boxer Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone.

The soaring theme song played Thursday night as Trump took the stage in Chester Township, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia. A Rocky statue wearing a Trump campaign T-shirt also graced the stage.

Kaine says he disagrees with Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who said U.S. society should “set aside talk” of institutional racism in the wake of more fatal police shootings of black men.

“We are imperfect people, we lock people up way more than other nations do and there’s biases in the way we do it. And if we aren’t willing to talk about that then we’ll never solve the problem,” Kaine said to reporters aboard his campaign plane.

Kaine added that he thinks Democrats and Republicans can find common ground on sentencing reform.

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6:55 p.m.

President Barack Obama says his advice to Hillary Clinton for Monday night’s presidential debate against Republican Donald Trump is to “be yourself and explain what motivates you.”

Obama, speaking with ABC News, said Thursday he believes Clinton is in the race for the right reasons, but he acknowledges she has a trust problem with some voters. Obama says he’s gotten to know his former secretary of state and has seen her in tough times and good times.

“There’s a level of mistrust and a caricature of her that just doesn’t just jibe with who I know — this person that cares deeply about kids,” Obama said.

Monday night’s faceoff will take place at New York’s Hofstra University.

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6:48 p.m.

Hillary Clinton has called Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts and North Carolina Congresswoman Alma Adams on Thursday to discuss the recent shooting and protests in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Clinton’s campaign says the Democratic presidential nominee offered her assistance and discussed with the leaders steps needed to take to ensure that “everyone is respected by the law, and everyone has respect for the law.”

Clinton talked to Roberts and Adams about the need to come together to stop the violence and restore the bonds of trust between police officers and the communities they serve, her campaign said.

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5:21 p.m.

Donald Trump Jr. says he was being straightforward and not dabbling in “microaggression” when he compared Syrian refugees to a bowl of poisoned Skittles candy in a tweet earlier this week.

The eldest son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday in Boise, Idaho, that he’s surprised by the reaction because he viewed the post as raising concern about properly vetting people coming to the United States. He said it takes a special type a person to find a message that isn’t there.

Trump Jr. tweeted a picture of a bowl of Skittles with the warning: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful?” Monday’s tweet went on: “That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”

Roughly 20 people holding signs and Skittles protested outside the event in Boise, which has more Syrian refugees than Los Angeles and New York City combined.

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4:55 p.m.

Donald Trump is sounding confident about his debate preparation just four days ahead of the first showdown against rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump was asked at Geno’s cheesesteak joint in Philadelphia Thursday how his preparations were going. He suggested that his choice of activities — campaigning rather than private preparation — speaks for itself.

He said, “Well, I’m here at Geno’s. I think it’s going great.”

Trump was also asked to explain his comment Wednesday that he’d finally acknowledged President Obama was born in the U.S. because he wanted people to stop asking about it. Trump declined to answer. Instead, a smile spread across his pursed lips.

He said, “Jobs, jobs everybody, jobs. We need jobs.”

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4:05 p.m.

Donald Trump is paying a visit to the famous Geno’s Steaks cheesesteak house in Philadelphia.

The Republican presidential nominee was greeted with shouts of “Trump for president!” ”We love you Donald!” and cheers of glee from patrons after pulling up in is motorcade.

As he ordered at the restaurant’s window, Trump jokingly offered a taste to the gathered press and onlookers.

“Anybody want?” he asked. “Good stuff.”

Trump also joked about maybe buying a sandwich for his rival, Hillary Clinton. “She’ll choke on it,” a bystander responded.

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3:50 p.m.

It was supposed to be her “47 percent” moment.

After Hillary Clinton said that half of Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables,” Republicans believed they’d found her campaign-ending blunder.

It was a way to cement her image as out-of-touch snob, just as Democrats did four years ago to Mitt Romney after he said “47 percent” of voters backed President Barack Obama because they are “dependent on government.”

But a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds Clinton’s stumble didn’t have quite the impact that Trump and his supporters wanted.

Instead, it’s Trump who’s viewed as disconnected and disrespectful. Sixty percent of Americans say Trump does not respect “ordinary Americans,” according to the poll. That’s far more than the 48 percent who say the same about Clinton.